Barry Humphries brings a collection of his best loved characters to The Grand Theatre this month as part of his farewell show, Eat Pray Laugh.

Humphries began his career at the Melbourne Theatre Company in the 1950s, developing among other characters the acerbic Edna Everage, back then only a Mrs. He headed to Britain at the beginning of the 1960s, coinciding with the new wave of satirical comedy which included collaborations with Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Peter Cook. It was a time when a new form of character-based comedy was evolving, with comic personas emerging between straight stand-up and theatrical farce. Humphries’ richly textured and outrageously outspoken characters made him an instant hit with the British public, and by the 1980s Dame Edna had become an institution hosting several television series. She was no longer a character, but a celebrity in her own right.

After over sixty-five years in the business Humphries has declared that Eat Pray Laugh is to be the final outing for his celebrated creations. Part cabaret-revue and part monologue, the show is an opportunity to experience first hand the characters many will have enjoyed on the small screen, with some lesser known faces in-between.

Talawa Theatre Company in association with the National Theatre brings Moon on a Rainbow Shawl to the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Faithfully adapted from Errol John’s award-winning play, we follow Ephraim as he decides to move away from the trappings of Trinidad – and parenthood – for a new life in the United Kingdom.

Written in the late 1950s the play shows its age in terms of pace. The opening act exhausts stage time setting up characters and situations, establishing Ephraim and Sophia whilst Trinidad is represented as a courtyard area buzzing to the sound of crickets blazed in a midday son. It’s evocative theatre, with naturalistically witty dialogue creating an immersive theatrical environment, but despite the actors’ efforts the first hour sags under a few too many pages of script. The dialogue, however, has an authentic quality requiring a dedicated ear; some plot points are revealed in throwaway moments so it’s a show which demands concentration. The action picks up in the second act after Errol John fully engages his dramatic arsenal; Ephraim is planning to emigrate but there is a strong possibility a child will be born to him by his orphaned neighbour. Will he stay? The struggle begins and the play takes flight.

Denise Van Outen launches her one-woman musical at the West Yorkshire Playhouse this month. Some Girl I Used To Know tells the story of Stephanie, a successful businesswoman awaiting the arrival of a journalist to her hotel suite. When an old flame from the past promises to meet her in the interim, buried memories from the past are aroused and life-changing decisions are made.

Some Girl I Used To Know features a number of melodic covers of Eighties and Nineties hits. Performed by Van Outen with typical West End vocal alacrity, the numbers do have something of the Lloyd Webber treatment – synth strings and all – but this is somewhat befitting for a play which eulogises the era with such warmth and fondness. Van Outen’s vocals are stirring and powerful, presenting an alternative take on pop songs such as Hold Me Now and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me. Rousing and resonating, the musical interludes are unobtrusive chapter points which agreeably compliment the story.